


Practice and Hiccups

by blynninja



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, post "Scars", post chapter 82ish, yona and hak spar, yona reopens a wound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 06:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7257217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynninja/pseuds/blynninja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post "Scars" fanfiction, post chapter 82/84. Yona and Hak have a practice sparring match and then some heartfelt conversation. I guess?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practice and Hiccups

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not completely sure where this came from. I wrote it last April, so it's really old and I can't remember exactly where my head was at in writing it??

_It's one, two, three_  
_then suddenly_  
_I see it at a glance_  
_she's radiant and confident_  
_and born to take this chance..._

_I taught her well,_  
_I planned it all,_  
_I just forgot romance..._  
Learn to Do It [Waltz Reprise], Anastasia 

\-- 

Why, oh why had he agreed to teach her to use a bow and a sword?

Idiot.

But he had to admit, her determination to use both was impressive.

She pelted trees with arrows two hundred times a night, which was what he had _joked_ of making her do when he had given her the bow. She had taken it to heart, and he was impressed.

When she had shot Kumji, his heart had stopped for just a second.

And then he had stupidly suggested that she _order_ him to teach her the sword, despite knowing with every fiber of his being that she would do it, and he would regret it.

But she was getting better.

She had grown more confident in both weapons, and wielded them with a grace that he hadn’t expected of her.

It was encouraging to watch her as they danced through the clearing, practicing her swordsmanship, seeing her take his advice and use it against him.

She had used his advice against those smugglers in the Water Tribe, and had paid for it. And yet she was still determined to learn and fight.

She was still a bit sluggish with certain moves, and she was tiring a little more easily than she had before the wound, but her determination was admirable.

She side-stepped as he lunged, her foot out to trip him, and he found himself on his back, staring at her sword, which trembled as she shook, but that fire was back in her eyes.

She dropped her sword, and he reached for his, touching the broad side to her hip.

“You left me an opening.”

“I was finished.”

“You didn’t even try to drive your sword near my head,” he half-whined. What was he teaching her for if she wasn’t going to practice to kill, like she had with her bow?

“I said I’m done practicing for today,” she snapped at him, and he lowered his sword.

“Fine,” he grunted, and he found her hand in his face, offering to help him up.

Smiling, he took her hand, and Yona pulled.

But he was still stronger, and he jerked on her hand, grinning broadly as she landed on top of him, scowling.

She moved to get up, but he wrapped both arms around her, holding her securely to him, closing his eyes for a moment.

“I thought I was too heavy,” Yona mumbled, and he smirked, opening his eyes to watch her.

“What?” he asked, pretending not to hear.

Yona glared at him for a long moment, squirming as she tried to get off of him, but then she cried out and he knew she had made her back injury worse.

Moving like the lightning he was nicknamed for, Hak sat them up quickly and ordered, “Turn around.”

Yona shook her head, and he gripped her shoulders, spinning her gently and dropping his cloak over her head.

“I want to check your back. Now.”

It was a command, and Yona was too surprised to argue.

Throwing him a dirty look over her shoulder, she did as he asked, sliding his cloak on backward, over her front, as she let hers pool behind her.

Yoon had left his bag of supplies outside when he had gone on to bed with the others, and Hak grabbed it, pulling out bandages and ointment.

He ignored Yona’s protests that Yoon wouldn’t like him rifling through his bag, assuring himself that Yoon would like it even less if Yona’s wound were worse because of a sparring match.

Yona’s wound had reopened a bit at her movements, if the fresh blood was an indicator, and he frowned.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard,” he said as he unwound the soiled bandage.

He heard Yona wince and grimaced when he saw how much blood had seeped through during their practice.

“This is my fault. I’m sor—”

“Don’t,” Yona interrupted, and he paused, surprised.

“Don’t apologize. Never apologize to me for my own wounds,” Yona said, and there was that determination again. “I chose this path, remember?”

Hak froze for a moment, and then sighed, forcing his hands to blot up blood and apply ointment.

“I was the one who told you to order me to teach you the sword,” he reminded her quietly, and she tensed beneath his hands.

“I’m supposed to protect you,” he went on, feeding her the bandage and waiting for her to wrap it around her chest. “I understand why you want to protect yourself—”

“And you,” she interrupted, but he shushed her and continued.

“And I know that you’re worried I’ll die. But I’ve faced death at least once on this trip and lived, and you made me swear that I won’t die before you, remember? I’m not going anywhere. At least not until you’re back in your castle and have reigned over Kouka as Queen Yona for a while.”

Yona was sniffling, and her shoulders shook as he smoothed the bandage and made sure it was secure.

Silently, he spun her back around to face him, wrapping her in a gentle hug and allowing her to cry, daring to smooth her hair soothingly.

She cried for a few minutes, and then abruptly forced herself to stop, which caused her to start hiccupping.

They came quickly, one after the other, and Yona squeaked.

Her hand immediately went to her face as she flushed with embarrassment, and Hak shook his head in amusement before leaning over and kissing her, smiling as she jumped.

She seemed to have lost all range of motion, sitting stock still, and he tried not to let it bother him. He had surprised her, after all. At least she wasn’t pulling away. Or hitting him.

Very slowly, she relaxed, and only when he was sure she was done hiccupping did he pull away, trying very hard to ignore the blush on her face.

“Wh—what was that for?” Yona sputtered after a moment, and he stared at her steadily.

“You stopped hiccupping, didn’t you?”

She blinked, and then punched him square in the shoulder.

“Hey! ‘Thank you for getting rid of my embarrassing hiccups, Hak.’” 

“You didn’t have to do _that_!” she protested, turning even redder. “They would have gone away!”

He shrugged. “I didn’t feel like listening to them all night.”

Yona was glaring at her hands, folded in her lap, and he grinned as he invaded her space again, taunting, “Would you like me to try it again?”

Eyes wide, she jerked her head up, and he could have done it, too, she was so close.

The blush on her face made it so much more tempting.

But she whipped her head in such a vigorous “no” that her hair hit him in the face, and he frowned, rubbing his nose.

“You could use your words, you know,” he pointed out, crossing his arms.

“And don’t move so much. You might reopen your wound _again_. And next time I might not be so careful.”

Where had _that_ come from? Damn feelings.

Yona frowned at him, like she was trying to figure out what he meant, and he sighed.

“It’s late. We should get some sleep.”

He stood, turning to head back into the tent, setting Yoon’s bag back where it belonged.

Yona joined him after a few minutes, dumping his cloak over his head before curling up as far away as she could get in the tiny space, and he chuckled.

He _could_ sleep outside, but this was much more entertaining.

When he was sure Yona was asleep, he tucked his cloak around her, and settled down next to her, watching the stresses of the day fade away as she slept soundly.

But the stress returned hours later, when she began tossing and turning, nearly smacking him in the face in what he assumed was a nightmare.

He debated for only seconds about waking her, and then she was gasping and waking up anyway, her eyes wide and her breathing ragged.

Hak frowned, concerned that her flailing had reopened her wound _again_ , and Yona breathed, “Don’t die, Hak.”

He snorted. “Of course I won’t.”

“Don’t die,” she said again, the look in her eyes frightening him more than he would ever admit out loud. “You died in my dream, and… there was nothing I could do and… you were dead, and I was alone!”

Her last few words were punctuated by a sob, and Hak didn’t even blink as he pulled her close, listening as she sobbed and wishing desperately that Mundok or Tae-yeon were around. They were better at this comfort stuff than he was, but he had gotten used to it in their months away from the castle.

Slowly, Yona’s sobbing ebbed into sniffles, and he cursed when her hiccups came back. She looked at him curiously.

“Ha- _hic_ -k?” Yona asked, scowling at the hiccup’s timing.

He watched her, smirking as a few more hiccups made her frustrated and caused her to throw her hands over her mouth again.

She was too cute for her own good.

“Should I get rid of them for you?” he asked, leaning closer and watching her carefully.

She looked startled as another hiccup jumped out, and her face turned an even brighter shade of pink, but she didn’t back away from him as he had expected, which he took as a good sign.

What was he doing? He should probably stop.

But he couldn’t make himself stop, and he was kissing her again, and was it his imagination or was she actually trying to kiss him, too? She had no clue what she was doing, but as long as she wasn’t crying or pushing him away, he wasn’t going to complain.

Yona pulled away much too quickly, her face flushed, and he very much wanted to try that again, but he knew he shouldn’t.

“Hm,” was all he could come up with, and Yona blinked at him.

“Eh?”

“Nothing,” Hak grinned.

“Hak.”

It was her Princess voice, and Hak quirked an eyebrow.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Yona said firmly, though the blush seemed to have gotten worse.

Oh, answering this honestly was a bad idea.

“Hak,” Yona nearly barked at him, and he swooped to kiss her one more time, grinning as he pulled back and watched her blink at him.

“Good night, Princess,” he said decisively, lying back down so he didn’t do something else stupid.

It took a few moments, but Yona followed his example, and he was pleasantly surprised to feel her curl into his side, making a happy sort of noise.

As long as her hiccups didn’t come back, they were probably safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know much about sword fighting techniques, but I know fluff.  
> “You made me swear that I won’t die before you, remember?” -- This actually came from a fanfic called Novocaine. So good that I stole it.  
> I’ve read that holding your breath can get rid of hiccups. Combine that with the old wive’s tale that they can be scared out of you and you get a fluff moment.  
> They share a tent. Idk. I like that idea.  
> Why is Hak so freaking fun to write? Stop that, mister Thunder Beast.


End file.
